The New York Times: Russian strikes on Western assets in Ukraine send ominous message

With the strikes on an American-run factory and European diplomatic missions, the Kremlin seems to be sending a signal that it will oppose Western efforts to establish peace and protect Ukraine, analysts and officials told The New York Times.

The missile attack on the city of Mukachevo, which is located in western Ukraine, shocked residents because the city is far from the front line and there is not even a curfew there. According to the American publication, when the mayor of the city heard the first strike, he first thought it was thunder.

It is indicated that the target of this attack was even more surprising. Russian cruise missiles hit a plant belonging to an American transnational corporation known for producing coffee machines. It is noteworthy that this happened 6 days after the meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, at which they discussed ending the war in Ukraine.

"Two strikes in one place? No, they were not mistaken. They knew exactly where they were hitting“, noted the mayor of Mukachevo Andrey Baloga.

The publication adds that after this incident, a week later Russia launched two missile strikes on the center of Kiev, as a result of which the offices of the European Union and the British Council, as well as cultural organizations, were damaged. As a rule, Russia avoids striking places where foreign diplomatic missions are concentrated.

The publication states that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has accused Moscow of deliberately targeting the European Union.

The publication notes that analysts and officials suggest that "strikes on American and European assets are a signal of confrontation: Putin feels entitled to reject the pressure they threaten him with in case of refusal to make peace. He believes that he has the right to wage war at his own discretion and even to cause damage to the West".

"Putin is very cautious and everything he does has a specific goal", says the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr Merezhko.

According to the Ukrainian politician, the strikes on Western targets are "a clear signal from him that he feels confident and is waging war not only against Ukraine, but also against the West".

It is stated that after the Russian attack on the American plant, Trump stated that he was dissatisfied with Putin. A similar statement on behalf of the US president after Russia's attack on Kiev was made by White House press secretary Carolina Levitt.

The publication draws attention to the fact that with this the US reaction has ended, and the US president's threats to impose additional sanctions against Russia have remained just threats.

“Russia is actually testing the limits of Western restraint, while at the same time implementing a broader strategy of coercion aimed at weakening the resolve of the allies and forcing Ukraine to take an unfavorable position in the negotiations“, says Vienna-based military analyst Franz-Stefan Gaddy (Franz-Stefan Gaddy is an analyst and military consultant at the Institute for International Studies in London and the Center for a New American Security in Washington).

Meanwhile, Europe is discussing the possibility of sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine after the end of the war.

“The message from Moscow sounds like this: "Don't you dare send your troops here, because Ukraine is a place where we can strike wherever we want", says Vladimir Dubovik, director of the Center for International Studies at Odessa National University.